National Pro-Life Chalk Day results in more campus vandalism

On Oct. 18, Students for Life (SFLA) chapters across the country chalked the sidewalks of college campuses with pro-life messages and art to recognize National Pro-Life Chalk Day. 

In response, pro-abortion students vandalized, erased, and smeared the artwork in protest. Below are incidents of pro-abortion vandalism from the 2022 event.

New Mexico State University- Las Cruces, NM

Students for Life at New Mexico State University spent more than eight hours chalking a mural on campus to empower women to choose life.

Campus Reform obtained photos of the artwork, which featured a woman holding up a child in a border of flowers. The chapter advertised standingwithyou.org, a resource for pregnant women on campus.

The artwork was later smeared, photos obtained by Campus Reform show.

“So much for being ‘accepting’ towards everyone right?,” the chapter wrote on Instagram.

University of Louisville- Louisville, KY

At the University of Louisville, the pro-life chalk message “If your healthcare kills, it’s not healthcare,” was changed to read “If your healthcare kills, it’s healthcare.”

A photo of the changed message was obtained by SFLA.

Other messages included “protection begins at conception,” “save a generation, be pro-life,” and “abortion stops a beating heart,” according to the SFLA chapter’s Instagram.

Illinois State University- Normal, IL

The pro-life chapter at Illinois State University also advertised standingwithyou.org through chalked messages on the campus sidewalk.

The website was scribbled out and replaced with “contact Planned Parenthood,” a photo obtained by SFLA shows.

University of North Carolina- Chapel Hill, NC

The pro-life chapter at UNC Chapel Hill chalked multiple “Choose Life” messages on campus. However, photos obtained by Campus Reform show the messages were partially erased.

Abortion Free Cities in Chapel Hill community organizer Chelsea Smith told Campus Reform that the messages were “to show a pro-life presence on campuses, where pregnancy is often not talked about.”

This year, the SFLA chapter is focusing on directing students to standingwithyou.org “so that they know of the resources near them,” Smith said.

“We hope that the right people saw our messages before they were vandalized,” Smith said. “We also hope that the contrast shows others that the pro-life movement is truly the one of love, compassion, and care.”

Gustavus Adolphus College- Saint Peter, MN

A student at Gustavus Adolphus College used a mop to erase pro-life messages on campus, SFLA reported.

Director of Media Relations and Internal Communication Luc Hatlestad told Campus Reform the “administration is aware of [the] incident and is currently discussing how best to address it.”

Campus Reform contacted every organization listed for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.